


boys and bombs

by axebastard



Category: Bodyguard (TV 2018), Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Pre-Relationship, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:18:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axebastard/pseuds/axebastard
Summary: Eggsy had been sniffing around an apartment complex when he heard the gunshot.





	boys and bombs

Eggsy had been sniffing around an apartment complex when he heard the gunshot.  
  
He was on a mission, because of course he was. Something about human trafficking - according to Merlin, this place could very well be a hub for it; naturally, he sent Eggsy to investigate. And that's exactly what he'd been doing.  
  
Until he heard that all-too familiar noise.  
  
Creeping up a rickety flight of stairs to the second floor, he stopped in front of one door in particular, hesitant. There were two possibilities here: either one person had shot another, or some poor bloke had tried to blow his brains out.  
  
Had he succeeded? Eggsy hoped not. But he wouldn't know until he opened the damn door.  
  
He didn't bother knocking before busting his way past the lock. He was a spy, and spies don't knock.   
  
No amount of next-level training could really prepare him for what he saw.   
  
The man on the floor was - for lack of a better term - a complete and total mess. One side of his face was clogged thick with blood that had begun to run down his neck, staining the collar of his shirt an upsetting red. And amidst all that red were little bits of brass.  
  
A blank. He'd shot himself with a blank.  
  
"Fucking hell," Eggsy breathed, because it was all he could manage at the time.  
  
"Go on, will you?" The stranger's voice was a Scottish snarl, coarse and cracking at the edges. "S'none of your fuckin' business."  
  
But Eggsy was a stubborn bastard by nature. He didn't budge. _Couldn't_ budge. "Don't be stupid, mate. You're not... You need help."  
  
"I don't," the poor bloke insisted, eyes scrunched up with misery when he hugged his knees tighter to his chest. "I _don't_."  
  
"All right, all right, let's just... Let's take a second, yeah?" Hands raised as if in surrender, Eggsy took a small step towards him. "What's your name?"  
  
A pause riddled with grief. And then, "David."  
  
That's when it dawned on Eggsy who this was, exactly. The man who stopped a train from getting blown to pieces. The man who _saved lives_.  
  
"David as in David Budd? I've seen you all over telly," Eggsy said before letting his voice soften. "You're a hero, mate."  
  
"No," David croaked, shaking his bloodied head. "No, I'm not. I'm a fuckin' failure. I _failed_."  
  
Eggsy's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm sure that ain't true."  
  
"Y'don't even know me," David pointed out, almost angry but not quite; Eggsy took another small step.  
  
"I know you need help. Badly."  
  
David got really quiet then, and Eggsy had never seen someone so tired. So utterly fucking tired. It broke his heart, but he couldn't let his pity immobilize him. The man needed amateur medical attention if nothing else.   
  
"Which way's the kitchen?" Eggsy asked, as if they were friends hanging out for the first time. As if this was a perfectly normal situation involving two perfectly normal people.  
  
If only.  
  
David nodded curtly in the right direction; Eggsy mumbled "thanks mate" and hurried out of the room, trusting that he wouldn't make a second attempt on his life. Grabbing the closest rag, Eggsy ran it under water from the sink before digging around for some tweezers, which he eventually uncovered.   
  
Supplies in hand, Eggsy returned from the kitchen and found David right where he'd left him: on the floor with his knees against his chest. Slowly, carefully, Eggsy kneeled beside him, offering a smile when David gave him a wary sidelong glance.  
  
Lifting the wet rag to David's face, Eggsy started to wipe away the blood, biting his lip apologetically when the sergeant flinched. He wasn't used to playing nurse, but he was damn well trying his best.  
  
Neither of them said a word for a long time. It was unusual for Eggsy to be this quiet. He figured the last thing David needed was a mouth that couldn't quit running; besides, he was concentrating pretty hard on the whole "cleaning a wound" thing.  
  
Believe it or not, it was David who broke the silence first.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, the question a quiet rasp formed by cracked lips.   
  
"Eggsy."  
  
David's mouth twitched - almost a smile. Almost. "What kind of fuckin' name is that?"  
  
"Well, my real name's Gary, but everybody calls me Eggsy," Eggsy explained while he traded the rag for the tweezers and began picking out the tiny pieces of brass.  
  
There was a pause. David's face was thoughtful; still. A stillness that was only disrupted when he opened his mouth and said, "Thank you, Eggsy."  
  
Eggsy flashed another smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Don't mention it, bruv. Now sit still before I stab you in the head with these tweezers."  
  
David did just that.  
  
Once Eggsy had plucked out the final fragment, he sat back on his heels and said, "There ya go! Good as new, mate. I mean... Kinda. Sorta. Not really."  
  
David managed an actual smile then, teeth and all. "You shouldn't sell yourself short. You did a fine job."  
  
Eggsy glowed under the sincerity of the compliment, something warm and golden blossoming in his chest. But the something wilted a little when David got to his feet; Eggsy scrambled up after him, glancing from the gun on the floor to the letters on the table. Then he looked at David - _really_ looked at him - and cleared his throat.   
  
"Listen, I know I'm not your mum or whatever, but I can't just leave you here. Shrinks seem a bit scary, but-"  
  
"No," David interrupted, quiet but firm. "I can't. Not right now. There are... Things I need to do. Important things." Eggsy gave him a look. David didn't budge. "You can go. I promise I'll be all right."  
  
Eggsy opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again to say, "Best of luck, mate."  
  
David nodded, fresh bruises coloring the left side of his face an ugly purple. Did Eggsy trust him? More or less. It's not like he could drag him to the hospital if that's not what he wanted.  
  
So he left.  
  
;  
  
Eggsy hadn't really expected to see David again after that. He thought about him, of course - wondered if he was doing any better - but ultimately figured they wouldn't cross paths a second time.  
  
And then they did.  
  
Merlin had sent him to some bar that was supposedly becoming a cesspool of organized crime. He was on the lookout for Luke Aikens, the overlord of the biggest syndicate in London. The authorities just couldn't seem to nab him; it was Eggsy's job to finally bring the bastard down.  
  
Perched on a barstool with a glass of bourbon glittering in front of him, Eggsy glanced slowly from left to right, scanning the dim backdrop for any sign of Aikens. Then he heard a woman say, "You made it!" And the voice that answered her was like a punch to the gut, and everything seemed to slow down, because what were the fucking odds?  
  
"Never one to turn down a free drink."  
  
Eggsy turned. He had to. Had to look. Had to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or some shit.  
  
Same eyes. Same mouth. Same bruises. This was real.  
  
"David?" It came out kind of squeaky, but he couldn't help it; judging by the way David's eyebrows shot up a good three inches, he was just as unprepared for this. But unlike Eggsy, he was quick to regain his composure, nodding and half-smiling like it wasn't weird at all.  
  
"Eggsy," he said, polite but a little dismissive. "Good t'see you."  
  
"Yeah." Eggsy offered a half-smile of his own, trying his best to keep the suspicion out of his voice. "Really good."  
  
They looked at each other a few seconds longer before the girl at David's side tugged on his arm, saying, "C'mon, sarge. We have a table downstairs."  
  
And with one last glance in Eggsy's direction, he went with her; Eggsy watched them disappear from view with narrowed eyes.  
  
Something was weird. This was... _Weird_.  
  
There was always a chance that David was an underground criminal who worked for Aikens, and Eggsy prayed that wasn't the case. Granted, he'd only interacted with the guy once, but he liked to think that that interaction was enough. Enough to determine whether or not David was a good person.  
  
Maybe he was just on a stupid date with that girl. Maybe all he wanted was to have a few drinks, go home, and sleep in till noon. Maybe he had nothing to do with the mission.   
  
The commotion Eggsy heard a few seconds later told him otherwise.  
  
Sliding off the barstool in one smooth motion, he crept his way across the room and down the stairs with his pistol burning a hole in his pocket. Upon reaching the last step, he was greeted by the sight of a distraught David being manhandled by two thugs, both of which were trying very hard to force him out the back door. And there, just a few feet away, was Aikens himself.  
  
"A bit rude to shove him 'round like that, innit?" Eggsy piped up; like clockwork, every head turned in his direction.   
  
The look on David's face would've made him laugh if he wasn't staring down a mob boss at the time.  
  
Aikens' smile was acidic. "This? Rude? We're just helpin' him out the door is all."  
  
"Yeah?" Eggsy smiled back, teeth flashing in the low light. "In that case, maybe I'll help you lot into a fuckin' jail cell."  
  
"Budd must be a friend of yours," Aikens said, practically _purred_ it, and that's when Eggsy drew his gun. Because he was done fucking around. Done watching those two goons hold David in place like a big Scottish ragdoll.  
  
Speaking of David: he made eye contact with Eggsy, jaw set and baby blues sparkling with a manic combination of panic and pride. And if he had blinked, he would've missed the way Eggsy winked at him, brief and yet emphasized enough to convey a very important message: _I'm gonna get you out of this._  
  
"Who are you s'posed to be, then?" Aikens asked, clearly getting impatient. "Some kind of undercover copper?"  
  
Eyes snapping back to the kingpin, Eggsy let his pointer finger curl a little tighter around the trigger and said, "I ain't keen on introducing myself to dickheads."  
  
"No?" Aikens clicked his tongue like a disappointed mother. "That's a real shame."  
  
Unimpressed, Eggsy let his lip curl in a sneer. "Tell you what: you let him go and I won't blow your fuckin' brains out. How's that sound?"  
  
"That's quite a deal," Aikens said, and the smile was dangerously knowing now. "Unfortunately for you, I ain't keen on negotiating with dickheads."  
  
Eggsy turned too late; the last thing he remembered - the last thing he _felt_ \- was the girl from before bashing him over the head with a bottle of wine.  
  
And just like that, he was out like a goddamn light.  
  
;  
  
The first thing Eggsy noticed upon waking up was the headache that threatened to split his skull in half.  
  
The second thing he noticed was David, who was sitting with his back against concrete and a tattered green blanket drawn snug around him. The bags under his eyes and the blood on his face said it all.  
  
"Fucking hell," Eggsy croaked, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows. Light was filtering through a large grate above them; they seemed to be below a street.  
  
Eggsy started to reach for his gun only to stop when David shook his head and said, "Don't bother. They took everything."  
  
He was right. All of Eggsy's fancy spy gear - his hidden knives, his hand grenades, his communication devices - was long gone.  
  
Merlin was going to kill him.  
  
"Kinda silly of them to not just snuff me when they had the chance," Eggsy muttered, sitting up all the way with a wince, and David's response was less than comforting.  
  
"You're already sittin' next to a bomb," he said, voice flat. "You might as well be dead."  
  
Eggsy must have seemed a little confused, because David lifted the blanket, revealing the explosives strapped to his midsection. Heart dropping like a bird shot out of the sky, Eggsy swallowed hard before whispering, "Fuck me."  
  
"Can't," David said, but there was no humor in it. He nodded to his right thumb, which was taped to the detonator. A dead man's switch. "My hands are a bit occupied."  
  
Eggsy ran shaky fingers through his hair, his chest feeling tighter by the second. Spies weren't supposed to panic, and yet there he was, panicking. "I, uh. _Shit_. Okay, first things first - we need to get out of here. Come on."  
  
Eyes bleak, David watched Eggsy from the floor as he dragged himself upright and extended a hand, which the sergeant only took after a moment or two of careful consideration. Once David was safely on his feet, they started looking around for an exit; it didn't take them long to find one. Eggsy in the lead, they emerged into the sunlight and found themselves at a street corner.  
  
"I need to contact the police," David mumbled, pulling the blanket tighter around himself while he glanced warily from left to right. They were getting plenty of strange looks, which was to be expected, really. It was almost a miracle that Eggsy managed to stop a woman who was passing by.  
  
It probably had something to do with that damn smile of his.  
  
"Sorry to bother you, love, but would you mind letting my mate here borrow your phone?" His voice was the perfect mix of urgency and charm. "It's a bit of an emergency."  
  
Her eyes flickered to the blood and bruises marring David's face before she nodded and said, "Yeah, of course. Here."  
  
Taking the phone from her hands, Eggsy dialed 999 as fast as he could manage and put it on speaker so David could talk to the operator, who picked up almost instantly.  
  
"What service do you require?"  
  
"Police," David rasped, and Eggsy had never wanted to hug someone so bad in his entire life. He just didn't want to get blown up in the process.  
  
"Putting you through now."  
  
They waited in agony for ten miserable seconds before another female voice poured from the speaker.  
  
"Police. What is your emergency?"  
  
"This is PS David Budd using a member of the public's phone," David answered, glancing around for a street sign with big nervous eyes. "I am status zero on Saltmarsh Street."  
  
There was a pause. And then, "Can you confirm your name, please?"  
  
"Police sergeant David Budd," David repeated, forehead creasing. Eggsy felt something churn in his gut - a bad feeling.  
  
"Units are on their way, PS Budd. Please return the phone to the member of the public."  
  
Eggsy handed the phone back to its rightful owner, who promptly held it up to her ear and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
Whatever the answer was, it made her give the two of them an uneasy look before moving away. Fast. Too fast.  
  
" _Shit_ ," David whispered, his already sallow face going another shade paler with fear. "We need to get out of here."  
  
Eggsy's brain was a hotbed of questions at that point, but he didn't ask a single one. Putting an arm around David's blanketed shoulders, he ushered him across the street, mumbling, "I know a place. You should be safe there. Just stick close, all right?"  
  
Merlin was _definitely_ going to kill him.  
  
;  
  
The trip to the so-called safe place was a stressful one. The only upside was that it was just a few blocks away; Eggsy and David cut through alleyways with their heads down, sirens wailing like bloodhounds all the while. Pretty soon they were lunging past the front doors of the Kingsman Tailor Shop, and Merlin was there to greet them, because of course he was.  
  
"Who in God's name is that?" were the first words out of his mouth - no _good to see you, Eggsy_ or _I'm glad you're all right._  
  
Typical.  
  
"This is David," Eggsy informed him all in one breath. "David Budd. That police sergeant from the train."  
  
Merlin narrowed his eyes at them, unimpressed. "Something tells me I'm not going to like whatever's under that blanket."  
  
Turning back to the wide-eyed, bloody-faced David, Eggsy gave him the most reassuring look he could manage before saying, "Go on, mate. Drop it."  
  
David glanced back and forth between them and then did as he was told; Merlin's eyes damn near popped out of his head.  
  
"Christ, Galahad, have you completely lost your mind? You've brought a bloody bomb into our headquarters."  
  
"Merlin, my good man, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a fucking _person_ attached to it," Eggsy snapped, gesturing at the person in question. "And he needs our help. So help him, god dammit."  
  
Feeling terribly out of place, David stood by and watched them stare each other down like a kid whose best friend was having an argument with their mom. Eventually Merlin heaved one of those hefty "I give up" sighs and said, "Fine. _Fine_. I'll have someone sent over - someone who can defuse it."  
  
"Thank you," David breathed, practically choking on his own relief, and Merlin's face softened just a little.  
  
"You've handled this remarkably well, Sergeant Budd. We'll have you out of that device in no time at all." That rare sympathy of his promptly disappeared when he turned back to Eggsy. "What happened with Aikens? I never received any updates."  
  
"That's because the dickhead stole all my fuckin' gear," Eggsy said, huffing. God knows he'd be getting several lectures on the importance of accountability or whatever the fuck.  
  
Merlin gave him a withering look. "I see that. How did he get his hands on it?"  
  
Eggsy's face was noticeably pinker when he cleared his throat and said, "I got knocked out."  
  
"By whom, exactly?"  
  
"I dunno. Some girl with a wine bottle." He reached up to rub the back of his head, wincing. "She may have given me a bit of a concussion."  
  
"Her name is Chanel Dyson," David piped up, much to Eggsy and Merlin's surprise. "She used to work for the home secretary before she got fired. A real troublemaker. Aikens must have recruited her at some point."  
  
Merlin glanced over at Eggsy with both eyebrows raised. "Would you mind explaining to me why he's being ten times more useful than you at the moment?"  
  
"No offense, bruv, but I think you should focus on getting that goddamn bomb off of him before it explodes and kills us all," Eggsy muttered, arms crossed defensively over his chest. "That's just my opinion, though. No biggie."  
  
The next hour passed in a blur. Merlin contacted a fellow agent who was well-versed in explosives and how to defuse them; thanks to the Hyperloop, said agent arrived in a matter of minutes. She wasted no time ushering poor David into one of the shop's many secret rooms, leaving Eggsy and Merlin to pace the floor and pray that the damn thing wouldn't go off.  
  
Fortunately for everyone involved, when David re-emerged a little while later, the bomb was nowhere to be found. He still looked hopelessly tired, and a good portion of his face was covered in dried blood, but at least he wasn't in immediate danger. That's all that really mattered.  
  
"Lookin' sharp, sarge," Eggsy greeted him, tacking on a wolf-whistle for good measure. "Is it just me or did you lose, like, five pounds?"  
  
In spite of everything, David managed a smile, small and weak but a smile nonetheless. It reminded Eggsy of the day they met.  
  
_"What kind of fuckin' name is that?"_  
  
Merlin gave his colleague a knowing look before turning and leaving the room. Eggsy's face flared up for the second time that day, but he didn't hesitate to take a seat on the shop's leather sofa and pat the space beside him, saying, "Sit. You've earned it."  
  
So David padded over and sat, his posture stiff compared to the way Eggsy sprawled out like a cat, head lolling and arms slung over the back of the sofa.  
  
"I s'pose this is the part where you wipe my memory," David said, quietly amused, and Eggsy smiled.  
  
"We ain't the Men in Black, bruv."  
  
"What is all this, then?" he asked, eyebrows drawn together. "Who are you?"  
  
Eggsy paused, but only for a moment. There was no real harm in telling David the truth. Eggsy trusted him.  
  
"I'm a Kingsman."   
  
And David just kept giving him one of those imploring looks, because obviously that meant nothing to him. So Eggsy cleared his throat and clarified.  
  
"I'm a spy," he explained, unable to keep the pride from his voice. "I go undercover and shoot bad guys and everything. It's great. Really great. Saved the world a few times, actually."  
  
David's eyebrows went from furrowed to raised in a matter of seconds. "Was getting knocked out part of the plan, then?"  
  
"Not exactly, no." Eggsy shifted a little, avoiding eye contact like the plague. "I swear that's not a thing that usually happens. I just didn't hear her coming."  
  
David gave a slow nod, internal laughter bringing a much-needed sparkle to his eyes, which almost made the embarrassment worth it. But Eggsy opted to change the subject anyway.  
  
"Why were you at the bar with Chanel?" Curious, not accusatory. "You had to have known it was a set-up."  
  
That was all it took to snuff the sparkle out. David looked down at the hands folded neatly in his lap - powerful, sure, but gentle all the same. So unlike Eggsy's own. Like sleeping lions.  
  
"Just tryin' t'solve a mystery," David said at last, his voice a melancholy Scottish hum, and Eggsy wasn't a total idiot. He could read between the lines. This was about the home secretary - the same home secretary who David hadn't been able to save from the bombing.  
  
It was killing him. Eggsy could tell. That's why he couldn't help but reach out and take one of those gentle hands, take it and hold it tight, squeezing the fingers that had been gripping a detonator not that long ago.  
  
"Did you?" Eggsy asked, his words painfully soft. "Solve it, I mean."  
  
David looked up at him, his face a Jackson Pollock painting of purples and reds and pinks. He was beautiful despite the mess. Tracing Eggsy's knuckles with his thumb, he smiled small and hopeful and said, "I sure hope so."  
  
They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, knees bumping together, faces warm but not too warm. Just two perfectly normal people in a perfectly normal tailor shop.  
  
What were the odds?  
  
"After all this, we should really go for a pint. Just you and me," David insisted after a few minutes had passed, and Eggsy's grin was dynamite.  
  
"Just you and me."  


**Author's Note:**

> @honkykot on tumblr :^)


End file.
